Marachi West residents protest police inaction over boda boda operator's murder

Residents of Marachi West Ward in Busia County have given the area police an ultimatum of seven days to restore security in the area.

The residents, led by their MCA Simon Maina and local businessmen, stormed the local police station in Bumala on Saturday last week to lodge an official complaint.

This followed the killing of bodaboda operator Charles Mungala on Saturday, who was shot dead by fleeing gangsters. It was reported by residents that, together with his colleagues, Mungala was responding to a distress call from a trader whose shop had been broken into.

"We wonder how the killing and robbery occurred just a few metres from the police station with no immediate action from the police officers," said one resident.

The death led to locals blocking the busy Busia-Kisumu road, which connects the area to Uganda. They lit bonfires on the road and dumped the body of the deceased at the entrance to the police station.

Security in the area has continued to deteriorate, with enraged residents accusing the police of slow responses to distress calls in the area and other places around the county.

They listed Lugulu, Murumba, Ogina, Burinda, and Butula as the most affected areas, with criminal gangs terrorising residents.

"Together with the Bumala business community, we held an urgent security meeting with the security leadership of Busia County to address the worsening insecurity in Marachi West following the incident at Bumala on Saturday," said MCA Maina.